Supporting working parents with progressive new policies

Nestlé affirmed its global commitment to working parents today by becoming a founding member of the Working Parent Support Coalition – a group of leading businesses that are implementing progressive policies to improve workplace wellness for new parents and their children. Announced at the 2015 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting, Nestlé joins Barclays, Danone, Ernst & Young and KKR in the Coalition. Paul Bakus, President of Corporate Affairs, represented Nestlé and joined leaders from each company on stage for the announcement.

In June 2015, Nestlé launched a global Working Parent Support Coalition that is estimated to be one of the most progressive programs of its kind in the industry. The policy establishes minimum standards to be implemented at Nestlé workplaces worldwide by 2018, impacting 339,000 employees. The policy provides employees a minimum of 14 weeks paid maternity leave and the right to extend their maternity leave up to six months. The policy is applicable to all primary caregivers of newborns, including male employees and adoptive parents. Nestlé plans to implement the U.S. version of the policy across its U.S. businesses effective January 1, 2016. The policy applies to Nestlé’s 51,000 employees in the U.S., including regular hourly workers.

Today at the CGI Annual Meeting, Nestlé further committed to conducting internal analysis with the aim of understanding the impact of its new policy on female employee retention. Nestlé will track the number of female employees who take advantage of the new maternity policy and attrition of female employees, and will share findings with coalition partners and CGI. Nestlé’s aim is to contribute to the ongoing dialogue regarding the impact of expanded maternity leave policies on improving gender balance in the workplace, with a particular view toward attrition of female employees.

“We recently announced a new global Maternity Protection Policy because we believe all of our new parents deserve more. Our expanded policy offers new parents 14 weeks partially paid maternity leave and the right to extend their leave up to six months,” said Paul Bakus, President of Nestlé U.S. Corporate Affairs. “Today, with industry leaders, we’re taking another step in the right direction by committing to evaluate and share the impact of our new maternity leave policy on employees in the U.S. Our goal is to use this information to contribute to the ongoing dialogue around maternity leave policies so we all can continue to improve.”

Nestlé’s Maternity Protection Policy also includes employment protection, flexible working arrangements and guaranteed access to breastfeeding rooms during working hours in head offices and sites with more than 50 employees. Nestlé currently has more than 190 breastfeeding rooms across its global working facilities.

Despite efforts made in the last decades to lower the barriers for parents, and especially women, to balance work and parenthood, the reality is that parental leave practices in the U.S. are still well below global standards. This may have a negative impact on health, the economy and women's advancement in the workplace. At the heart of the issue are the conditions around parental leave, ranging from back-to-work strategies, leadership culture, and length of the paid parental leave.

About Nestlé in the United States
Nestlé in the United States is committed to being a trusted leader in nutrition, health and wellness. Our diverse portfolio of food and beverage products provide nutritious options for every member of the family, including infants, toddlers, teens and adults, mature adults, and dogs and cats. Nestlé in the U.S. consists of eight main businesses: Nestlé USA, Nestlé Purina PetCare Company, Nestlé Waters North America, Nestlé Nutrition, Nestlé Professional, Nespresso, Nestlé Skin Health and Nestlé Health Science. Together, these companies operate in more than 120 locations in 47 states and employ over 51,000 people. The United States is Nestlé S.A.’s largest market with combined product sales in the United States totaling more than $26 billion in 2014.

At Nestlé, we believe that for our business to prosper in the long term, we must create value for our employees, customers, stakeholders, consumers and the communities where we live and work. Nestlé embeds Creating Shared Value (CSV) into every part of its business, from nutrition and wellness to environmental sustainability and responsible sourcing. For more information, visit: http://www.Nestléusa.com/creating-shared-value.

About the Clinton Global Initiative
Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an initiative of the Clinton Foundation, convenes global leaders to create and implement solutions to the world's most pressing challenges. CGI Annual Meetings have brought together 190 sitting and former heads of state, more than 20 Nobel Prize laureates, and hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations and NGOs, major philanthropists, and members of the media. To date, members of the CGI community have made more than 3,200 Commitments to Action, which have improved the lives of over 430 million people in more than 180 countries.

In addition to the Annual Meeting, CGI convenes CGI America, a meeting focused on collaborative solutions to economic recovery in the United States; and CGI University (CGI U), which brings together undergraduate and graduate students to address pressing challenges in their community or around the world. This year, CGI also convened CGI Middle East & Africa, which brought together leaders across sectors to take action on pressing social, economic, and environmental challenges.

For more information, visitclintonglobalinitiative.org and follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative.